Can Ivanka Trump Run For President? The Donald's Daughter Lit Up The RNC Stage

She wasn't there to accept the GOP's nomination for president, but she might have been there to kick off a political campaign of her own. On Thursday, Ivanka Trump introduced her father at the Republican National Convention, giving a rousing speech that seemed to please everyone in the audience. By the sound of it, Ivanka could run for president herself and do quite well.

The elder Trump daughter has reportedly played a pivotal role in her father's campaign so far. In fact, she brought his primary campaign full circle: She introduced him more than a year ago at his campaign kick-off event in New York, and she introduced him on Thursday as he accepted the nomination in Cleveland. "For more than a year, Donald Trump has been the people's champion, and tonight he is the people's nominee," she said on Thursday.

But her RNC speech wasn't just about celebratory clichés. She also highlighted her own ideas and her own priorities for the country. "He will fight for equal pay for equal work, and I will fight for this too, right alongside of him," she said. Ivanka has previously indicated that she doesn't intend to seek public office herself, but her political career might as well have started at the RNC, where talk of equal pay was otherwise scarce.

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Technically, Ivanka could run for president herself if she wanted. Her 35th birthday, on Oct. 30, will take place before November's general election and January's inauguration. Of course, she would certainly never consider running against her father — although she could have made an interesting vice presidential pick.

So maybe it's not Ivanka 2016, but rather Ivanka 2020 that we need. If she were to run, it's unclear which party she'd align with. "Like many of my fellow millennials, I do not consider myself categorically Republican or Democrat," she said on Thursday. "Sometimes, it's a tough choice." She noted that it won't be a tough choice for her in November, but her political affiliations could change beyond 2016.

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Ivanka's political career remains a big "if," but her appeal among the RNC crowd doesn't. According to the nominee's daughter, President Trump would stand for equal pay and affordable childcare, among other things. As she spoke, Ivanka reminded viewers why she's her father's most trusted adviser: because she could do this thing herself if she wanted.